INTRO:Why do you
plant a garden or put in fruit trees? Because you are seeking wonderful crops
of fruits and vegetables!No one
plants gardens and fruit trees for just the way that they look ... if you wanted
just looks they are plenty of other things we can plant like flowers and
bushes.

Imagine the disappointment if you planted several fruit
trees and all you got was leaves!Or imagine planting a nice garden and getting
dandelions!

One year I
planted a crop of broccoli and some snap peas for stir frying.I was so anxious to try these tender
snap peas that when they looked like they were ready I picked a mess of them and
brought them in for my wife Bevie Jo to stir fry.The first bite was horrible … I had to
spit them out ... they were very bitter, chewy, and waxy!They didn't taste good at all!At first I tried to blame the poor taste
and quality on Bevie Jo's mismanagement in cooking ... a bad idea of
course!Later I discovered the real problem,
they weren't snap peas after all, they were Lima beans!!Someone had put the wrong seeds in the
wrong package ... what I thought I had planted I hadn't planted!I didn't catch this because lima beans
in the early stage of developmpent look similar to snap peas!You only get what
you plant no matter what the label says!The same thing happened with my so called broccoli ... the longer these
plants grew, the more I realized they were the strangest looking broccoli plants
I had ever seen ... they turned out to be turnips, again the packaging had been
incorrect, someone put the wrong seeds in the wrong package!(I bought all the packages at the same
place; obviously quality control at this particular place was lacking on seed
packaging!)

In the same
way fruit trees are suppose to grow fruit, Christians are expected to be
FRUIT BEARING
... It is not an optional thing
... it is the expected thing!In
fact, this is the one way we are to know what is really acceptable and what is
not.It is this single thing that
enables us to be able to judge true spirituality ... we are not to judge one
another in motives, but we are to be FRUIT
INSPECTORS!Jesus bore fruit in His
life ... and if His DNA is in us as believers we will also bear fruit in our
lives.

Jesus
said in the Word of God that “by our fruit we will be known” ... His love is
the ultimate fruit!Paul said the
same thing in the book of 1 Corinthians about the gifts of the Holy Spirit ...
nothing is more important than LOVE ... if it is absent, even the gifts of the
Holy Spirit are meaningless!

PROP.
SENT:The Bible
teaches us that we are to be bearing fruit in our lives ... it is the fruit of
the Holy Spirit that will touch people the most and draw them to Christian
living.If we are examined, what
kind of fruit shows in our lives?

I.CRISIS
IN CONDUCT!Matt.
7:15-20

A.Appearances vs. Substance!Matt.
7:15

1.It
is interesting that Jesus begins a discussion about being fruitful by describing
"false
prophets" who only appear to be spiritual; without genuine
fruitfulness in their own lives!Matt.
715a

2.There are constant warnings in both the Old and New Testament concerning
those who would come to God's people appearing to be "one of the gang" but in reality lack
the fruit of one who comes from
God.

a.The church is warned about this by
Jesus.

b.Paul warned the churches he wrote to concerning those who would come
after him to deceive them.

c.By
the way, from this we can deduct that before allowing anyone to claim they are a
"prophet" from God there should be TIME to see if their lives actually have the
proper fruit!The idea of someone
simply speaking out as a prophet of God and they are completely unknown is an
improper way to operate.We should
"Know those
who labor among us."Even in the Pastoral Epistles Paul mentions that "elders" and "deacons" should "first be tested,
and then let them serve."The idea of being aware of genuine fruit was the precursor for
leadership or ministry, or accepting their ministry.

3.Appearances or the ability to say the right things should never be the
basis of giving someone a place of leadership or authority, proven character
should, especially the demonstration of God's
love!

4.The real test is not what appears to be spirituality, but what shows when
the tests come ... what flows from the inside out!There is an old saying, "squeeze a
sponge and you onlyl get whatever it has soaked up already!" And obviously it takes time to witness
real fruit; just like a fruit tree ... you don't get fruit the day after you
plant a seed!

a.Be
careful of strangers who tell you how spiritual they are; or expect some kind of
influence ... if you don't know them, either wait for time to reveal their
character or get good character references from people you trust and know
already.

b.Part of "overseeing" God's people is to protect them from "false
shepherds" or "wolves" that might creep in to promote their
own agendas.Be a good fruit
inspector!

ILLUS:A WOMAN NAMED
ADELE GABOURY TURNED UP MISSING SEVERAL YEARS AGO IN WORCESTER,
MASS.THE CONCERNED NEIGHBORS CALLED THE
POLICE, AND THEY IN TURN CALLED THE WOMAN'S BROTHER WHO INFORMED THEM THAT
EVERYTHING WAS
FINE; SHE WAS
SIMPLY AWAY IN A NURSING HOME.SATISFIED WITH THIS, THE NEIGHBORS DECIDED TO BE HELPFUL FOR THIS FINE
LADY, AND THEY ARRANGED FOR THE YARD TO BE MOWED TWICE A MONTH, WHEN MAIL PILED
HIGH, A NEIGHBOR CONTACTED THE POST OFFICE AND HAD DELIVERIES STOPPED.DURING THE WINTER THEY NOTICE SOME PIPES
MUST HAVE FROZEN AS WATER LEAKED FROM THE HOUSE.THE UTILITY COMPANY WAS CALLED AND THE
WATER SHUT OFF.WHAT NO ONE KNEW
HOWEVER, SINCE NO ONE WENT IN THE HOUSE WAS THAT ADELE WAS STILL HOME!WHEN THE LOCAL POLICE FINALLY
CAME TO CHECK THE HOUSE OUT AS A POTENTIAL HEALTH HAZARD, THEY WERE STARTLED TO
FIND THAT ADELE WAS STILL THERE ... ALTHOUGH SHE WAS DEAD! -- AND HAD BEEN DEAD
FOR THE LAST 4 YEARS!!ALL THE
APPEARANCES HAD BEEN KEPT UP ON THE OUTSIDE WHILE DEATH WAS IN THE INSIDE!IF ONLY SOMEONE HAD CHECKED THE
INSIDE!– SOURCE UNKNOWN

4.The greatest damages to the Kingdom of God have never come from outside
sources, it has almost always come from those inside the Kingdom who fail to
have good fruit!History is replete
with examples!

a.Thus we are called upon to be
fruit
inspectors!

b.Ministry and ministers should be
evaluated!

B.Applying StandardsMatt.
7:16-20

1.Now Jesus explains the examination process:All living things have fruit, some good,
some bad!

a.How can we know those who we shouldn't follow?By examining the fruit of their
lives!

b.The point Jesus is making here is that "only good
fruit can come from good trees," and it can't come from bad trees ...
likewise, you don't get a certain kind of fruit from a different kind of
plant!

c.All in good time, every living thing reveals the true nature of its
life!

2.Some plants can look good externally, but have horrible fruit -- and
likewise there are some ugly looking plants that produce some really great
fruit!

a.Jesus cautions
us to judge by fruit, not appearances!We are not to judge motives, but we certainly are to judge
fruitfulness!

b.Anyone can learn to use the proper vocabulary, learn how to shout "Amen"
the right way ... one can even learn to raise their hands and appear spiritual
... but it is the fruit that comes from their lives that tell the real
story!

3.Real fruit for Christians is love; self-sacrificing ... this was Christ's
kind of love!

ILLUS:BACK ON
MAY 21,
1946 A SOON
TO BE TEST WAS BEING READIED FOR AN ATOMIC EXPLOSION ON
BIKINIISLAND.IN LOS ALAMOS WHERE MUCH OF OUR NUCLEAR
WEAPON PROJECTS WERE DONE DURING WORLD WAR II A YOUNG SCIENTIST WAS CARRYING OUT
SEVERAL REPEATED TESTS ON U-235 TO DETERMINE EXACTLY HOW MUCH MATERIAL WAS
NEEDED TO BRING THE MASS TO THE CRITICAL LEVEL FOR AN ATOMIC BLAST.KNOWLEDGE THEN WAS QUITE CRUDE ... AND
SO WAS THE EXPERIMENT ... HE SIMPLE TOOK TWO SAMPLES OF U-235 AND PUSHED THEM
TOGETHER TO FIND OUT IF HE COULD CREATE A CHAIN REACTION, TO REACH CRITICAL
MASS.HE HAD DONE THIS SEVERAL
TIMES ALREADY, EACH TIME JUST AS THE TWO SAMPLES CAME TOGETHER AND BEGAN TO
REACH CRITICAL MASS HE WOULD TAKE HIS SCREWDRIVER AND INSERT IT BETWEEN THE TWO
SAMPLES SHUTTING DOWN THE CHAIN REACTION FOR SAFETY REASONS!THIS METHOD IS STILL USED IN NUCLEAR
REACTORS TODAY; WE STILL INSERT RODS TO BRING THE REACTIONS UNDER CONTROL!THERE WERE 8 OTHERS IN THE ROOM THIS DAY
WITH THIS YOUNG SCIENTIST.HE WAS
DOING THE EXPERIMENT ONE MORE TIME, LIKE BEFORE HE PUSHED THE TWO HEMISPHERES OF
URANIUM TOGETHER, AND JUST AS THEY BEGAN TO REACH CRITICAL MASS HE ATTEMPTED TO
SEPARATE THE TWO SIDES WITH HIS SCREWDRIVER, HOWEVER, THIS TIME HE SLIPPED WITH
THE SCREWDRIVER AND THE CHAIN REACTION CONTINUED.HE KNEW WHAT THIS MEANT, AND SO WITH HIS
BARE HANDS HE QUICKLY PUSHED THE SAMPLES APART, BUT NOT BEFORE A FLASH OF BLUE
LIGHT WENT OFF.HIS SEPARATING THE
TWO HEMISPHERES OF URANIUM HOWEVER SAVED EVERYONE IN THE ROOM FROM A MORE
SERIOUS CHAIN REACTION ... HOWEVER, HIS ACT OF BRAVERY WAS GOING TO BE COSTLY TO
HIM!SURE ENOUGH, AS THEY ALL WENT
TO THE HOSPITAL HE ASSURED HIS FELLOW WORKERS, "YOU'LL ALL COME THROUGH THIS
O.K., BUT I HAVEN'T THE FAINTEST CHANCE MYSELF."HE WAS SO RIGHT, 9 DAYS LATER HE DIED A
HORRIBLE DEATH FROM SEVERE RADIATION POISONING.USING HIS BARE HANDS HAD SAVED EVERYONE
ELSE HOWEVER FROM A MORE SERIOUS REACTION, BUT HAD SIGNED HIS DEATH
WARRANT!THIS IS WHAT CHRIST DID
FOR US ... AND IS THE SAME SELF-SACRIFICING FRUIT WE SHOULD DISPLAY IN OUR LIVES
TOWARD OTHERS! –
SOURCE UNKNOWN

4.It
is thus important to not only take notice of the tree and what it looks like,
but what kind of fruit it produces!

ILLUS:THERE
IS A COUNTERFEIT OLIVE TREE IN PALESTINE
CALLED THE "OLEANDER" OR
"WILD OLIVE."IN
EVERY WAY
IT IS
EXACTLY LIKE THE GENUINE OLIVE TREE EXCEPT ONE ... IT PRODUCES NO FRUIT
WHATSOEVER!BY LOOKS YOU CANNOT
TELL HOWEVER, IT IS A DUPLICATE IN EVERY WAY!NO ONE PLANTS ORCHARDS OF IT HOWEVER,
FOR IT MAY LOOK THE SAME, BUT IT PRODUCE5 NOTHING OF VALUE!– SOURCE UNKNOWN

5.There is nothing improper in looking for fruit from those we entrust
ourselves to, or from those we look to for
guidance!

6.Jesus’ final words in this section
are,
"thus,
by their fruit you will recognize them"...both the good prophets and the bad
ones!

II. CRUCIAL CONNECTION!Matt.
7:21-23

A.Approval Sacrificed!Matt.
7:21-22

1.Jesus' point here is quite simple ... not everyone that claims to be a
Christian is actually one!

2.There may be those who know the language, know the manners of being a
Christian, they may even have prophesied in Jesus' name and done miracles ...
however, these things alone don't reveal their true identity ... their fruit
does!

a.Notice that Jesus is not contradicting their account of the number of
miracles performed, here described as “many.”

b.Prophesy here refers to preaching and proclaiming the Word of
God!

c.But how can this be that they could have done these things and be false
believers?Because ... God will
honor His Word in spite of the vehicles, but the results of ministry don't save
us, only the life changing power of God's love in our own lives can do
that!

3.It is somewhat disturbing to read
in Matt. 7:22 that Jesus says, “Manywill
say on that day…” ... yet these "many"
will be lost!

a.It is not enough to do ministry, we
must display the FRUITof the Holy Spirit in our
lives!

b.While the world is initially attracted to results ... they are
drawn to love!

4.There will be those who fail to get God's approval but found approval
from man.This is a most tragic
possibility in eternity!

B.Adverse Sentence!Matt.
7:23

1.How will Jesus deal with these “ministers”
who knew how to minister, but did not become the
minister God desired!?

a.He will speak to them "plainly"... "I never knew
you!"

b.And the outcome in eternity,
"away
from me, you evildoers!"Notice the emphasis
on "doer."

2.Our status in heaven has little or nothing to do with what we look like
outwardly ... it will have everything to do with what we displayed from our
hearts however!

a.This is why the Christian life is so different from the world:in the world they don't care what you
are really like, just as long as you do the job and perform at the level the
company expects!

b.However, in the
kingdom of God"why" we do something is more important than
just "what" we
do.

c.Paul says that evenif we minister in the
gifts of the Holy Spirit but have not love we are just making
noise!!!!(1 Cor. 13:1-2)

3.It
is not enough to haveministry ... we need holyministers ... people who have real fruit evidenced from their
lives!

ILLUS:HUGH
LATIMER, ONE OF ENGLAND'S GREAT REFORMERS DURING THE REFORMATION PERIOD SAID TO
HIS LARGE CONGREGATION:"YOU
CAN BUILD A HUNDRED CHURCHES AND FILL THEM WITH GOLD STATUES AND WITH CANDLES AS
BIG AS OAKS, BUT IF YOU DO NOT LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AND FEED THE HUNGRY AND CLOTHE
THE NAKED, YOU WILL GO TO HELL IN SPITE OF ALL."THE
FRUIT OF GOD'S LOVE COMPELS US PAUL SAYS TO REACH OUT, TO SACRIFICE
OURSELVES!NO GUILT TRIPS WORK
NEARLY AS WELLAS GOD'S
LOVE!– SOURCE UNKNOWN

III.CLEAR CALL!Gal.
5:22-23

A.Approved Substance!Gal. 5:22a

1.The only approved fruit that should come from our lives is that of the
Holy Spirit ... and that fruit is a singular thing:LOVE!

a.In the Greek, the word "fruit"is singular, not
plural!

b.The list that follows is a list of the characteristics of "love"
... these are not "fruits" of the Holy Spirit, but
characteristics of the fruit of love!

2.Unlike most things which are harmful if too much of it comes, there is no
excess with love:

ILLUS:THE
DESIRE OF POWER IN EXCESS CAUSED THE ANGELS TO FALL; THE DESIRE OF KNOWLEDGE IN
EXCESS CAUSED ADAM AND EVE TO FALL, BUT IN LOVE THERE IS NO EXCESS, NEITHER CAN
ANGEL OR MAN COME IN DANGER BY IT!-- (FRANCIS BACON)

3.This passage on the fruit of the
Holy Spirit is being contrasted
by an earlier verse which showed the fruit of the natural spirit ... how
different the two are, that which flows from our nature is selfish in nature,
but the fruit of the Holy Spirit which is love is just the
opposite!

4.One cannot possess the Holy
Spirit and not demonstrate the fruit of the Holy Spirit!

a.This is Paul's point here ... as well as Jesus' point in Matthew 7!

b.Whatever is really inside us will
come out!Jesus said it this way,
"out
of the heart the mouth speaketh."

5.This is the singular quality of being a Christian ...
LOVE!

B.Activities of SpiritGal.
5:22b-23

1.These characteristics listed here are those of
love:

a.Joy
is love's
strength

b.Peace
is love's
security

c.Patience
is love's
stability

d.Kindness is
love's conduct

e.Goodness
is love's
character

f.Faithfulness is love's
commitment

g.Gentleness
is love's
humility

h.Self
Control is love's
victory!

2.This list therefore is not a list of different fruits of the Holy Spirit,
it is a list of how the fruit of the Holy Spirit
works!

3.When the Holy Spirit resides in our life ... there will be a growing
evidence of this fruit in our lives.

a.Like all things
that bear fruit ... there might be stages toward that fruit
maturing:

b.Like a flowering stage, then a green stage ... but finally the sweet
fruit matures to bless all!

c.Our lives as Christians should demonstrate that we are bearingfruit … of the Holy Spirit!

4.The evidence is in the list of characteristics that Paul just shared
here!

ILLUS:LIKE
WARREN WIERSBE ONCE SAID, "WE DO NOT
USE THE HOLY SPIRIT, HE USES US!"

5.No
law is required where there is love ... law is there to regulate the flesh and
the natural man's bent toward evil ... where the fruit of the Holy Spirit exists
no law is necessary, love is not self-serving, it is
self-sacrificing!

a.Our lives are to be evaluated by the fruit we
display!

b.We
are to evaluate others by the fruit they
display!

c.The bottom line to Christianity is that we are to bear fruit!ARE
YOU?

CONCLUSION:The World, Christians, and
even Christ will judge us on more than just the content of what we
believe and what we say ... it will be mainly on our conduct!! People can be fooled by what we might
say, but they can't be fooled by what we do! We are called to bear fruit, the fruit of
the Holy Spirit!The acceptance of
the Gospel could literally hang on the fruit from our lives!How's your harvest
coming?